"Never-Shuts-Up"

At the risk of being completely offensive and definitely NOT "PC", I was thinking earlier about how in first grade around Thanksgiving, we made "indian" headbands that had our made-up "indian" names on them. I had a perm at that time (yep, I was 7 years old with a perm, thanks Grandma) and so my "indian" name was "Princess Golden-Curls".

It got me thinking that if this were at all an appropriate thing to go around giving my whitey-white anglo spawn an "indian" name, it would have to be "Never-Shuts-Up". No "Wind-Rustles-Trees" or "Quiet-Mountain-Stream" here. The child makes noise incessantly. It's all the husband and I can do to get a word in edgewise, she will just not be quiet.

I know some of you are saying, "Gee, I wish my kid would talk," and you've got a valid wish there. I like that she talks, but I don't like that she's a bossy little drama queen who doesn't quite understand the concept of "respect thine elders" and "your turn, my turn" yet.

Our spawn started talking in a coherent and understandable fashion when she was less than 18 months old. It wasn't a lot of words, but she sure as hell got her point across. Now, at 30 months, we're at the point where she speaks well enough to make herself understood to perfect strangers. Very rarely do I need to ask her to repeat anything so I or others can understand it. This is nice. What isn't nice is that she interrupts conversations. She asks me three times the same question after I've already given her an answer. She screams from the backseat of the car until I acknowledge her.

We keep reminding her that it's rude, it's not nice to (insert offense here). Does it help? Ha. Not a chance. I just don't know what to do. She's really hitting the terrible twos - her behavior in other areas is lacking, to say the very least. She's clingy and whiny - what a change from the independent, well-behaved, happy child she was just a couple months ago.